The old, the bold and the beautiful

It’s that time of year when homeowners stop thinking about their future kitchen and instead stress about where their Christmas tree should go.

At the same time, builders replace hammers with beers and architects slink off to the Greek islands. So what better time to reflect on the year that was? Of all the wonderful, weird and downright wacky property transformations we saw this year, there were a few standouts.

These four projects may inspire some to put a new house on their Christmas wish-list, while others will be making new year’s resolutions to never go down the long and stressful road taken by these folk.

Most dramatic transformation

The family that tackled this property was ambitious to say the least. They took a two-storey duplex fronting BronteGully and rebuilt it fromthe ground up.Or perhaps fromthe sand up is more accurate. The fact that the property is in effect sitting on a giant sand dune meant the excavation phase was significantly more expensive than planned.

The result, however, is unique. It is nowa bold four-storey house with four bedrooms, four bathrooms and four north-facing decks, and the interiors are as cool as they come. Although the new build didn’t turn a profit, being by the beach appears to have brought out the Zen in the vendor. As he points out: ‘‘We’ve done property for over 20 years and in that time things go up, things go down. They may be a little bit lowat the moment, but they’ll go back up again, so you’ll be fine if you stay in the game.’’

Best internal fitout

Probert Street,Newtown Purchase price: $1.27 million, November 2010 Cost: $984,021 Sold first half: $1.38 million, July 2012 Sold second half: $1,375,000, July 2012

You might guess this renovation was not undertaken by a couple of greenhorns. A pair of serial renovators had the aim of turning this 1930s warehouse into two designer homes with parking.

The renovatorswere very clever with what they kept. Rather than cover up the industrial past they have made a showcase of the exposed beams, structural steel and original brickwork. The fusion of old and new is seamless.

Best addition in a heritage zone

Renovations are already stressful endeavours, but heritage restrictions can really take their toll.

The family that undertook this renovation knew any addition they made must not be visible from the street. Their architect, JoshuaMulders, was also aware of this. Even so, with a hawkish architect neighbour and a stringent council planner on their case, it took them two years to get DA approval for their concept. Perhaps it was all worth it, though, as the design is immaculate.

At the time the architect said: ‘‘It’s about reading history quite clearly through the architecture.’’

Those who visit will find that the abrupt transition fromthe colonial front of the house to the 21st-century back tells quite a story.

Best new kitchen

The brothers whoundertook this renovation really nailed the kitchen. However, if you look at the original kitchen, just about any work they did would have been an improvement.

The kitchen they dreamed up has been incorporated into the openplan living space. The polishedconcrete bench with integrated Miele appliances ensures the functionality of the space, while the black-brick motif gives the end product a thoroughly modern and edgy aesthetic.